


I was the captain of a sinking ship waiting for the waves to find me

by FiresFromOurHearts



Series: Uncharted Waters [4]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Jinchuuriki-centric, Kirigakure | Hidden Mist Village, Mentions of Kiri civil war, Uzushiogakure | Hidden Eddy Village
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:40:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,193
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28167879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FiresFromOurHearts/pseuds/FiresFromOurHearts
Summary: Follows Wayfinders' chapter 23 where the jinchuriki of Uzushio meet up.
Relationships: Fuu & Nanabi | Seven-tails | Choumei, Han & Roushi & Fuu, Han & Roushi (Naruto), Rokubi | Six-tails | Saiken & Utakata
Series: Uncharted Waters [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875832
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34





	I was the captain of a sinking ship waiting for the waves to find me

**Author's Note:**

> Title stolen from Wanderer by Dvddy because I am unoriginal.

Utakata follows Sora. They had left the rest of their squad-mates behind in the capable hands of the medic. Whilst Utakata had been wary about letting the medic-nins near, Toru had accepted them with good grace and he’d followed his leader’s, _(his Kage’s—and it’s still such a strange thought)_ , actions. His squad-mates had bracketed him, kept him in the most defensible position, and it’s touching to see that. Utakata knows they care, has seen it in their actions during battle and outside of it, but upon seeing his unease in their home, they’ve taken it upon themselves to keep him safe.

It would certainly never happen in Kiri, but then Uzushio really isn’t Kiri. “I think they’re training,” Sora says with an apologetic tone. “But I’m not certain, so I’m sorry if I’m wrong.”

Saiken twists, chakra fluctuating slightly, and Sora doesn’t even look or flinch or anything. _They’re close,_ the bijū says. _All of them. And they… they’re happy_. Saiken rarely sounds surprised, but now he does. Utakata racks his mind, trying to remember when—if ever—Saiken has been surprised before, but nothing comes to mind.

Then, he realises, it wasn’t the jinchūrikis that were happy—but the bijū themselves were. That… that boded well. Utakata knows that most bijū are unhappy with their jinchūriki, used as tools and not considered to be intelligent at all. His relationship with Saiken had been rather unusual, though Kumogakure seems to be changing that with their latest two jinchūriki.

To have, not one or two but _three_ jinchūriki happy in Uzushio and their bijū happy alongside them? It’s insane to think about, even when one ignores the power imbalance amongst the hidden villages now.

“They’re there,” he says, moments too late, but Sora just smiles at him. It’s strange, to see her face, but she remains the same. Perhaps slightly softer, slightly more vulnerable, without her ANBU mask, but he sees the shade of the ANBU she is. The body language that has only become more pronounced. This is Kyatapirā, his fierce teammate, but it’s also Sora—an Uzushio ninja.

Before they reach the training ground, Sora stops and faces Utakata, meeting his gaze steadily, _(it’s impossible to forget that her spine is made of steel)_. “Do you want me there when you meet the others? Or any of the squad? Toru would come, if you wanted, if you asked.”

Even before Sora’s finished asking, Utakata’s shaking his head. “It’s alright,” he says, and he’s only mildly surprised to feel that it’s true. “This is something I have to do myself. And I’m sure you all have things to do.”

“Yes,” his squad-mate agrees without hesitation, “but you’re important.”

_(It’s no longer strange to be told he’s important, but that—in its own way—feels strange.)_

Utakata smiles. “And I’ll be okay,” he says. “Besides, I feel like this is something I have to do by myself anyway.”

“Well if you need us, pretty much anyone will be able to locate at least one of us. And I’m sure someone will probably drop by to check on you in an hour or two.”

“And I’d probably want to see one of you in a few hours,” Utakata agrees easily. “We’ve been in a war. I’m used to the check-ins and it’d be weird to be without them. Besides, we’ll continue fighting after. This isn’t the end.”

Sora’s expression flickers. “Unfortunately,” she says, the corners of her mouth turning downward.

“Go,” Utakata says, letting a little bit of steel into his voice. He knows how his squad goes, and he knows himself well enough to know that if he keeps talking to Sora, he’ll avoid meeting the jinchūriki even though he does want to meet them. “I’ll be okay. Go do whatever you need to get to.”

Sora reaches out, squeezes his shoulder lightly, and then darts off. Utakata watches her go for a moment, before turning his back while she’s still in sight and continuing towards the training ground by himself.

There’s no noise warning of fighting or anything, which is somewhat weird. Then again, maybe Uzushio have seals or something to keep the noise contained, though that sounds like it could cause security problems. Around him, the trees begin to drop away, until he can see through the trees and to the training ground up ahead.

He can hear a cheerfully bubbling river, gurgling happily, and birds calling to one another. But still no sound of fighting. The training ground itself looks deserted with the grass swaying softly in the wind. It looks to be grassy plains more than anything else. A perfectly normal training ground, an easy one to fight in too, and yet he senses no fighting.

When he first enters the clearing, he doesn’t see anyone, but then he looks up and sees a young kunoichi hovering in the air, pale slightly transparent wings blurring with movement. They look to be made out of chakra and it definitely looks to be a bijū ability—like Utakata’s bubbles, he assumes.

Below the kunoichi, there are two shinobi. One is rather taller, but somehow narrow than the man beside him who doesn’t even come up to his shoulders. It’s an odd picture and Utakata’s really not sure how he missed them earlier.

“Oh,” the kunoichi says, wings disappearing without warning and she drops to the ground, crouching and becoming hidden amongst the grass before she stands seconds later. “Are we needed somewhere?”

“He’s not an Uzushio-nin,” the shorter man says, quickly falling into an attacking position. Utakata doesn’t respond, but he does feel himself tense. He allows himself a moment to miss his squad, to want them beside him, before he shoves the useless desire away.

“I’m Utakata,” he says. “Jinchūriki for Saiken. The Uzukage has given me permission to stay here.”

“A Kirigakure missing-nin,” the taller jinchūriki says.

The kunoichi bounces forward, beaming. “I’m Fū! Chōmei is my partner. It’s good to see you! Did you hear Uzushio’s call too?”

Utakata blinks. Not because of the onslaught of words, but because he hadn’t realised that it had been Uzushio calling him, all those months ago. Although, thinking about it, it does make quite a bit of sense. “Yes,” he says, a moment later. “But I came because of Toru-sama, rather than Uzushio’s call. I wasn’t quite certain whether I could trust it in the end.”

“I’m Rōshi,” the shorter man says, rather than answering. “Son Gōku.” He jerks his hand over his shoulder, gesturing at the taller man who’s come up behind him and is looming, though Utakata imagines he can hardly do anything else considering his height. “That’s Han. He works with Kokuō.”

Bowing slightly, Utakata says, “It’s an honour to meet all of you.”

Rōshi colours slightly, appearing ill at ease with the formalities and Utakata smiles to himself. “None of that,” the man says gruffly. “You can join us. We’re helping Fū with her wings.”

Bouncing on her toes, Fū grins at Utakata. “I’m learning to fly,” she says. “Chōmei is doing their best to teach me, but it’s a bit of a challenge still. Since it’s bijū chakra, Han and Rōshi have been helping me figure out how to use it better and avoid burning anyone nearby. I’ve gotten heaps better and can even land properly now!”

“That’s pretty cool,” Utakata says mildly. “I might be able to help, a little bit, if you want. I don’t use wings myself, but Saiken allows me to use bubbles.”

“Bubbles?” Fū echoes, brows furrowing.

“You can fly using them, correct?” Han asks. Utakata looks up and meets the man’s gaze, and Han gives him a nod. Despite his height, he looks rather kind, though if Utakata recalls correctly, he’s normally wearing armour which probably makes him much more intimidating.

“Yes,” he answers. “It might not be the exact same, but I might be able to help figure somethings out. Do you know whether you are forming the wings out of pure bijū chakra or mixing it with your own?”

“Do you mix your chakra with Saiken’s?” Fū asks. “I’m using pure bijū chakra though.”

“It depends,” he says. “If I am moving myself and only a short distance, I usually use my own chakra. However, if I am going for something stronger, I will use Saiken’s chakra if he offers it up. Usually, if there are others with me, I will reinforce the bubble by using both my chakra and Saiken’s, as Saiken’s by itself is deadly and mine isn’t strong enough.”

“Do you think mine works like that?”

“I doubt it,” Rōshi says, arms folded against his chest, but he’s watching Fū rather than glaring or scowling at Utakata, _(and Utakata feels welcomed, somehow, despite the fact Rōshi has yet to smile in his presence)_. “You seem to be operating on a tail basis for your wings. As in, rather than a tail appearing, a wing appears.”

“Except that makes no sense,” Han replies, sounding faintly aggrieved, and Utakata wonders if they’ve had this conversation before. From the sounds of it, it seems like they’ve had it many times already. “If that was the case, then Fū wouldn’t be able to do it with almost no training. Plus, how can you fly with seven wings? That’s an uneven number.”

Utakata hums, thinking. He’s younger than both Rōshi and Han, likely learnt to use Saiken’s chakra more recently, and he wonders whether they remember how hard it had been to control the chakra. “How good is your chakra control over Chōmei’s chakra?” He asks. “When I was learning to use Saiken’s chakra, I kept channelling too much and forming a tail as a result. This isn’t quite the same as you don’t appear to be forming a tail, but you are using enough chakra that it’s likely impacting you as a result. Do you mind creating the wings once again? Not many, but… I have an idea on what might be happening.”

Shrugging, Fū says, “Well we haven’t been getting much further with it today, so anything you can offer will be helpful!” She leaps up into the air, chakra flaring before it takes on the acidic sensation that Utakata always gets from Saiken’s chakra.

Two wings form, dark green and slightly translucent, and the chakra feels heavy, like it has a physical weight to it. And Utakata’s not certain he’s right, but it makes sense to him.

For a few minutes, Fū hovers in the air, before she drops down and looks towards Utakata. “So?”

“I think you can use less chakra to create working wings,” he says. “And if you use less chakra, you should be able to create more wings and have better control over them. You have chakra to spare, as a jinchūriki, and that makes chakra control harder, but it will be helpful here.”

Fū pulls a face but it’s Han who speaks with a thoughtful expression. “That makes sense,” he says. “I hadn’t considered it, but it explains why we’ve been thinking that this is similar to having tails of chakra in use.” He turns to look at Fū. “This will mean more chakra control exercises and focussing on using less chakra.”

“But chakra control exercises,” Fū whines. She throws herself to collapse on the grass, becoming hidden almost straight away. “I’ve done them for so many years and nothing is improving.”

“Steal some of the Uzushio ones,” Rōshi says with a shrug. “I’m sure between all three of us we can come up with some new ones as well.”

Wryly, remembering his own challenges with chakra exercises, Utakata offers, “Do the standard tree climbing and water walking using bijū chakra only.” Upon seeing Fū’s horrified expression, he laughs. “I did it when I was a bit younger than you, and it’s challenging, but _very_ helpful.”

“Do you want me to blow us all up? Is that your plan?” At Fū’s questions, Utakata can’t help but laugh.

“I think you’ll be fine,” he says. “I sincerely doubt you’ll do that and, if the situation was to occur, I think there will be others making sure the damage remains minimal.”

Rōshi laughs, loud and sudden like an eruption, Utakata eyes him warily. “Utakata-san, you’re going to find Uzushio to be very different from your expectations. There’s never a quiet day around here.”

From Rōshi’s words, it sounds like Utakata should be expecting explosions every other day and noise all the time. There’s a hint of foreboding threaded through Rōshi’s words, but Utakata can’t bring himself to feel worried or any such thing. Rather, he feels safer for it, in some weird way. Maybe it’s because Uzushio doesn’t seem to hide anything behind locked doors and keep things in the shadows were no one can see them. Uzushio doesn’t pretend to be anything else than what is is.

_I think we’re going to be happy here,_ Saiken murmurs quietly to Utakata.

Utakata raises a hand to his chest, like he can press his hand against Saiken in acknowledgement. _I agree,_ he says. _I don’t think we could find a better village than this one._

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed reading this! I did have a bit of fun writing it, especially with showing the relationship Utakata has with the team (Toru's ANBU team, that is). 
> 
> Also. I have so many questions about Chomei and tails and how the flying ability works and in the end, I said fuck it and I just decided that everyone can talk about how it doesn't work. Han is me. "That makes no sense" indeed.


End file.
